Anonymity and Privacy Should Not Add Up to Prison Time

"Under current rules, a criminal defendant can get additional time added to a prison sentence if he used "sophisticated means" to commit the offense. In its testimony before the commission, EFF will argue that sentencing courts should not assume that using proxies — technologies that can anonymize users or mask their location — is a mark of sophistication. In fact, proxies are widely employed by corporate IT departments and public libraries and, like many computer applications, can be used with little or no knowledge on the part of the user.
"It would be a serious mistake for the United States Sentencing Commission to establish a presumption that using a common technology is worthy of additional punishment," said Jennifer Granick, EFF Civil Liberties Director. "Whether or not a convicted person’s use of a proxy is worthy of increased penalties is a case-by-case determination most appropriately made by a court."" – Content courtesy ofAnonymity and Privacy Should Not Add Up to Prison Time | Electronic Frontier Foundation